Characterization of Noise in Eating Establishments Based on Psychoacoustic Parameters

Abstract:

Noise in eating establishments has been studied in architectural acoustics literature. For evaluating acoustics in these spaces, researchers predominantly investigate sound pressure levels and reverberation times. Yet, noise in eating spaces originate from a wide variety of sources and is hard to describe and evaluate with only sound pressure levels and reverberation times. Better metrics for acoustics in closed public spaces are needed. Psychoacoustic parameters of loudness, sharpness, fluctuation strength and roughness are promising metrics that have been used by many recent studies evaluating noise annoyance. However, unlike the established metrics such as reverberation time, no set of recommended values exist for these parameters, yet. The aim of this study is to investigate noise in eating establishments through psychoacoustic parameters and understand both the noise characteristics and the metrics themselves. This paper presents a set of sound recordings during lunch hours in two eating spaces in Izmir Institute of Technology. The entry and egress of occupants have been tracked manually, while sound levels have been measured and the noise has been recorded for psychoacoustics analysis. The relationship between the number of occupants and psychoacoustic parameters has been investigated through these objective measurements. The relationship between the number of occupants and sound levels is discussed in the light of the Lombard effect.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 887)
• Pages: 539-546
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.887.539
• Online since: January 2019
• Authors: Onurcan Çakir*, Zeynep Sevinç, Mustafa Emre İlal
• Keywords: Architectural Acoustics, Eating Establishments, Psychoacoustics, Soundscape

References

[1] J. Kang, K. Chourmouziadou, K. Sakantamis, B. Wang, Y. Hao (Eds.), COST Action TD0804: Soundscape of European Cities and Landscapes, COST, Oxford, (2013).

[2] J. Kang, B. Schulte-Fortkamp (Eds.), Soundscape and the Built Environment, Taylor & Francis, Florida, (2016).

[3] M. Soyer, C. Houdet, Reduction of acoustic annoyance in school dining halls, The Journal of Auditory Research 26 (1986) 191-196.

[4] A. Astolfi, M. Filippi, Good acoustical quality in restaurants: a compromise between speech intelligibility and privacy, Proceedings of ICA, Kyoto, (2004).

[5] J. Kang, Acoustic quality in non-acoustic public buildings. Technical Acoustics 25-6 (2006) 513-522.

[6] M. Hodgson, Z. Razavi, G. Steininger, Evaluation of acoustical environments in eating establishments, Building Acoustics 16-2 (2009) 125-148.

DOI: 10.1260/135101009788913239

[7] J. H. Rindel, Acoustical capacity as a means of noise control in eating establishments, BNAM 2012 Joint Baltic-Nordic Acoustics Meeting, Odense, Denmark, (2012).

[8] P. L. Battaglia, Achieving acoustical comfort in restaurants, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 22-015001, (2014).

[9] D. Svensson, C. Jeong, J. Brunskog, Acoustic comfort in eating establishments, Forum Acusticum 2014, Krakow, (2014).

[10] L. Zelem, V. Chmelik, D. Urban, M. Rychtarikova, Analysis of the acoustic conditions in the student restaurant, Proceedings of EuroNoise 2015, Maastricht (2015) 1627-1631.

[11] R. Watson, O. Downey, The Little Red Book of Acoustics, Blue Tree Acoustics, Sheffield, (2008).

[12] Z. Razavi, Evaluation and Optimization of Acoustical Environments in Eating Establishments, Master Thesis, The University of Tehran, (2006).

[13] H. Lazarus, Prediction of Verbal Communication is Noise— A review: Part 1., Applied Acoustics 19 (1986) 439-464.

DOI: 10.1016/0003-682x(86)90039-3

[14] J. H. Rindel, Verbal communication and noise in eating establishments, Applied Acoustics 71 (2010) 1156–1161.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2010.07.005

[15] International Commission for Acoustics, Psychoacoustic Basis of Sound Quality Evaluation section, Proceedings Book of ICA 2001, Rome, (2001).

[16] M. Long, Architectural Acoustics (2nd ed.), Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, (2014).

[17] DIN 45631 Standard, Calculation of loudness level and loudness from the sound spectrum - Zwicker method - Amendment 1: Calculation of the loudness of time-variant sound, German Institute for Standardization, (2010).

[18] ISO 532 Standard, Acoustics- Method for calculating loudness level, International Organization for Standardization, (1975).

[19] ISO 532 Standard Draft, Acoustics- Methods for calculating loudness, International Organization for Standardization, (2016).

[20] ANSI / ASA S3.4 Standard, American national standard procedure for the computation of loudness of steady sounds, American National Standards Institute, (2007).

[21] H Fastl, E. Zwicker, Psychoacoustics: Facts and Models, (3rd ed.), Springer, New York, (2007).

[22] S. S. Stevens, Calculation of the loudness of complex noise, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28 (1956) 807-832.

[23] B. C. J. Moore, B. R. Glasberg, T. Baer, A model for the prediction of thresholds, loudness and partial loudness. J. Audio Eng. Soc. 45 (1997) 224-240.

[24] Information on http://www.bksv.com/library/dictionary.aspx.

[25] DIN 45692 Standard, Measurement technique for the simulation of the auditory sensation of sharpness. German Institute for Standardization, (2009).

[26] G. Von Bismarck, Sharpness as an attribute of the timbre of steady state sounds, Acustica 30 (1974) 159-172.

[27] W. Aures, Berechnungsverfahren für den sensorischen Wohlklang beliebiger Schallsignale (A model for Calculating the Sensory Euphony of Various Sounds) Acustica 59 (1985) 130-141.

[28] R. Sottek, Gehörgerechte Rauhigkeitsberechnung, DAGA 94, Dresden, (1994).

[29] AMCA Publication 302, Application of sone ratings for non-ducted air moving devices, Air Moving and Conditioning Association, (1973).

[30] P. Lindborg, Psychoacoustic, physical, and perceptual features of restaurants: A field survey in Singapore, Applied Acoustics 92 (2015) 47–60.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2015.01.002

[31] N. M. Ortiz, B. Schulte-Fortkamp, Quiet-zones, is quiet" the correct identifier, in: J. Kang, K. Chourmouziadou, K. Sakantamis, B. Wang, Y. Hao (Eds.), COST Action TD0804: Soundscape of European Cities and Landscapes, COST, Oxford, 2013, pp.68-70.

[32] P. N. Dökmeci, F. Aletta, M. Frost, I. Garcia, M. Galuszka, J. Kocinski, H. Lin, A. Mundt, M. Tomas, K. Genuit, B. Schulte-Fortkamp, COST Short term scientific mission: Training course on soundscape analysis: Soundwalk, recordings, analysis and listening tests, in: J. Kang, K. Chourmouziadou, K. Sakantamis, B. Wang, Y. Hao (Eds.), COST Action TD0804: Soundscape of European Cities and Landscapes, COST, Oxford, 2013, pp.224-227.

DOI: 10.1121/1.3384065

[33] M. Mehta, J. Johnson, J. Rocafort, Architectural Acoustics: Principles and Design, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, (1999).

[34] L. L. Beranek, Music, Acoustics & Architecture, John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York, (1962).